Dublin's Overpopulation: Regional Development, Not Single City Enhancement, Is the Solution
Tom Tiernan agrees Dublin is overpopulated but disputes the idea that enhancing a single regional city like Sligo is the solution. He argues for a comprehensive regional development strategy involving all regions, citing Dublin's housing crisis, high costs, and commuting issues. Tiernan criticizes the government's inaction on regional development and calls for nationwide efforts to redistribute growth.
Tom Tiernan responds to Justine McCarthy’s June 19th article, «Dublin is bursting at the seams, but the solution is obvious,» agreeing with the assessment of Dublin’s overpopulation but challenging the proposed solution of enhancing a single regional town like Sligo.
Tiernan argues that all regions outside Dublin must be part of the solution and benefit from any development strategy. He highlights that over 25 per cent of Dublin’s working population commutes daily, 60 per cent by car, from across Leinster due to insufficient housing, high costs, and traffic congestion in the capital. Dublin, with a quarter of the country’s population, also accounts for almost three-quarters of Ireland’s homeless people.
He criticizes the lack of proactive government pursuit of a regional development strategy, insufficient incentives for investment outside Dublin, and poor utilization of existing infrastructure. Tiernan notes that over 50 per cent of jobs facilitated by IDA clients in the past five years emerged in Dublin, despite housing shortages. He advocates for focused regional development across the country to alleviate Dublin’s burden and transform it into a national benefit.